Leaves: Vary in colour with lower leaves dark green or with silverywhite veins and upper leaves light or dark green with no markings, all hairless with margins entire, paler undersides and on stalks (15-60 cm long) which are partly grooved; lower leaves are heart-shaped or shaped like an arrow-head (7-14 cm long) with pointed tips; intermediate leaves larger with spreading lobes; upper leaves (12-38 cm long and 16-17 cm wide) divided into three segments or leaflets.

Climbs up into shrubs and tree shading out native vegetation and in so doing reducing native plant diversity and abundance. It has the ability to invade intact forests covering the forest floor and climbing into large and well established native trees, often causing canopy collapse due to the weight of the large stems (Space and Flynn, 2000; (Morgan et al., 2004). In Florida it is displacing a host of native plants including rare ferns (Possley, 2004). In Belize, it has invaded citrus orchards competing with trees for water and nutrients (Tzul, undated). The thick mats also harbour snakes endangering labourers working in orchards (Tzul, undated). S. podophyllum may also cause mild to severe poisoning if ingested (Morgan et al., 2004).

Source:

Witt, Arne. 2017. Guide to the Naturalized and Invasive Plants of Southeast Asia. CAB International. Retrieved from http://www.cabi.org/cabebooks/ebook/20173158961 on 24 October 2018

Leaves: Green, hairless above, purple veins below with scattered hairs, simple, almost round but abruptly tapering to a sharp point (7.5–30 cm long and 7–20 cm wide), held alternately on stems, leaf stalk attached to the underside of the leaf blade instead of at its base or margin (3–24 cm long).

Uncertain but assumed to be native to Pemba, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, northern Australia and eastwards into Polynesia to the Society Islands. Different biotype may be invasive in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Indonesia.

Smothers native vegetation to the detriment of plant and animal life. In Vanuatu, it is considered to be one of the most important weeds of plantation forestry and is one of two major specie sthreatening natural regeneration in logged or disturbed areas (Bakeo and Qarani, 2005). In Indonesia, it also inhibits and/or prevents the movement of threatened and rare species such as elephants, rhinos and tigers.

Source:

Witt, Arne. 2017. Guide to the Naturalized and Invasive Plants of Southeast Asia. CAB International. Retrieved from http://www.cabi.org/cabebooks/ebook/20173158961 on 23 October 2018

Large, upright tree [10–15 (–35) m tall] with trunk up to 170 cm in diameter with a dense wide crown; younger branches are almost hairless or have a sparse covering of short hairs, older branches thick with small white-coloured corky spots; shoots, buds and branchlets covered in yellow-brown hairs, slightly buttressed; sheds leaves at the end of the growing season.

Flowers: Orange, showy, tulip-shaped, in dense clusters (8–10 cm long) on long stalks (10 cm long) at the end of branches, individual flower stalks short and covered in brownish hairs; there is a yellow-flowering variety.

Fruits: Pod-like (several-seeded dry fruit that splits open at maturity), green changing to brown as they mature, elongated (17–30 cm long and 3.5–5 cm wide).

Native plants are displaced by the shading effect of the large leaves, resulting in reduced biodiversity under tree canopies (Weber, 2003). In surveys in Fiji, respondents claimed that the African tulip tree competes with crops, reduces the amount of land available for grazing livestock and leads to the loss of more desirable trees that are used for medicinal purposes and/or firewood (Brown and Daigneault, 2014). It is a weed of coffee plantations in Cuba, reducing yields (Herrera-Isla et al., 2002).

Source:

Witt, Arne. 2017. Guide to the Naturalized and Invasive Plants of Southeast Asia. CAB International. Retrieved from http://www.cabi.org/cabebooks/ebook/20173158961 on 24 October 2018

Leaves: Green, linear, flat or folded (7–25 cm long and 2–8 mm wide) with a whitish, waxy covering; leaf sheaths (tubular structure that clasps stem) hairless or hairy, with hairs usually restricted to the upper margins; ligule (thin outgrowth at junction of the leaf and leaf stalk) is membranous with short hairs.

Displaces native vegetation, particularly in or near shallow waters. It is also a serious weed in a wide range of perennial crops including sugarcane in Taiwan and Hawaii; pineapple in West Africa; tea in India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka; various orchard crops in Thailand; rubber, coconut and oil palm in Malaysia; and rice in Indonesia and Sri Lanka (Holm et al., 1977). In Taiwan, rhizome density can reach 15 tons per hectare, while a density of 5 tons per hectare can result in a 50% reduction in sugarcane yield (Peng and Sze, 1974). P. repens may act as an alternative host to the rice leafhopper (Holm et al., 1977).

Source:

Witt, Arne. 2017. Guide to the Naturalized and Invasive Plants of Southeast Asia. CAB International. Retrieved from http://www.cabi.org/cabebooks/ebook/20173158961 on 23 October 2018

Can form dense stands replacing native wetland plants and interfering with aquatic ecosystems. Para grass chokes streams and wetlands, slowing water flow and increasing sedimentation (Arthington et al., 1983; Humphries et al., 1994; Bunn et al., 1998). In North Queensland, Australia, infestations reduced channel discharge capacity by 85% (Bunn et al., 1998) increasing the frequency and intensity of floods. Poor drainage (excessive waterlogging) can also reduce sugarcane yields by up to A $100,000 per property per annum in coastal North Queensland, Australia. In the Babinda area, Australia, cane growers spend an estimated A $23,000 each year on herbicide to control para grass in drainage ditches (Fisk, 1991). Infestations can also affect nesting habits and feeding areas for waterfowl (Humphries et al., 1994). For example, it is destroying the breeding habitat of the magpie goose (Anseranas semipalmata Latham) and contributing to the decline of the endangered yellow chat (Epthianura crocea tunneyi Mathews) in the Alligator River floodplain in the Northern Territory, Australia. Infestations also increase the frequency and intensity of fires contributing to further biodiversity loss. Para grass is an alternative host for a number of agriculturally important pests and diseases (Holm et al., 1991).